Birdman or The Futility of the Quest for Fame

Abhi

09 February, 2015

I finally managed to catch Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance before it left the cinemas. The acting is FANTASTIC. The cast of Hollywood A-listers from Michael Keaton to Emma Stone hit it out of the park. The cinematography is genius. Yes, I’m talking about the one- take method – executed as seamlessly as humanly possible. The concept and story were also intriguing.

So why oh why did I come out of it feeling like something was missing?

It’s an actor’s movie.It’s all about the individual characters and their trials and tribulations. The 119 minutes could have easily been slashed to 90, but the long scenes allowed the actors to breathe.

The meta, self-mocking nature of the film is endearing. For example, Michael Keaton’s character is a washed up actor who played a superhero years ago. He now stars in a play which is reviewed as being “hyper- real”. Where have we seen that before?

Birdman wants to be a move about the futility of the quest for fame and the high price that individuals pay to “make it”. Ultimately though, it’s a movie about self-obsessed people plodding along with their lives.

I wished there had been more to it than that. If you are a movie-lover this is a MUST watch.